Organic Crosslinked Tin Oxide Mitigating Buried Interface Defects for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Tin dioxide (SnO2) is a key material for electron transport layers (ETLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs).
• Conventional SnO2 colloids often exhibit defects and non-uniformity, limiting device performance.
• High-quality SnO2 films are crucial for achieving high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in PSCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a strategy for homogenizing SnO2 with reduced defects for high-performance PSCs.
• To investigate the effect of bisphenol S (BPS) crosslinking on SnO2 thin films.
• To improve the interface contact and stability of perovskite solar cells.

Main Methods:

• Commercial SnO2 colloid was modulated using bisphenol S (BPS) crosslinking.
• The BPS crosslinking passivates defects and promotes film regularity by forming a nanoparticle network.
• Coordination of BPS sulfone groups with Pb2+ regulated the crystallization of PbI2 and FAPbI3.

Main Results:

• BPS crosslinking effectively passivated defects in SnO2 films, leading to enhanced uniformity.
• Improved interface contact was achieved between the BPS-crosslinked SnO2 layer and the perovskite.
• Perovskite solar cells utilizing BPS-crosslinked SnO2 achieved a champion efficiency of 24.87% and excellent long-term stability.

Conclusions:

• Bisphenol S crosslinking is a viable strategy to improve SnO2 ETLs for high-performance PSCs.
• The BPS-modulated SnO2 layers enhance device efficiency and operational stability.
• This approach offers a pathway to more robust and efficient perovskite solar cell technology.